The Human Element a guide to human behaviour in the shipping industry Permissions Photographs are reproduced by kind permission of BP, Teekay Marine Services, the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) and gs partnership ltd. The authors have made every effort to ensure that all necessary permissions have been obtained and attributions made for the technical materials used in this publication. In the event that Designed and written by we have missed something, please send email to gsp@gspartnership. Dik Gregory & Paul Shanahan co.uk. We will put it right in the next edition. © Crown Copyright 2010 Any publisher wishing to reproduce the content of this publication must not use or replicate any logo or replicate the official version’s style and appearance, including the cover design, and must not Moral rights present their version as being an official publication. Neither The rights of Dik Gregory and Paul Shanahan to be identified as the MCA nor its partners accept any responsibility for the accuracy or authors of this work have been asserted by them in accordance with comprehensiveness of any other versions. the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. ISBN Number Acknowledgement 9780115531200 The authors wish to thank Jane Edmonds, our editor, to whom we owe a debt of clarity and consistency, and to the many seafarers who First published 2010 provided us with context and insight. We also wish to thank Captain David Turner and Marc Williams of the MCA for their support and facilitation, and the valued contributions of Rick Roche (BP), Tommy Olofsen and Jo-Anne Watermeyer (Teekay), and Chris Spencer and Colin Legget (Standard P&I Club). Sponsorship This Guide was sponsored by the UK Maritime and Coastguard Agency, supported by BP Shipping, Teekay Marine Services, and the Standard P&I Club. Publishers The Stationery Office (TSO) The Human Element a guide to human behaviour in the shipping industry Dedication The global shipping industry is a dangerous place. Every day, it loses two ships, pays out US$4 million in claims and radically changes the lives of hundreds of people for ever. Human behaviour is the source of virtually all such loss. It is also the reason why the loss is not greater. This book is dedicated to the professionalism of seafarers everywhere, and to the growing number of seafaring organisations who want to know how to guide human behaviour in a safer and more profitable direction. Foreword We’ve heard many views The safety of our seafarers My experience as a Shipping is a truly global on the ‘human element’ in and environment, and Master at sea, and over industry through which the marine industry. The the way we learn, have 20 years ashore in ship international trade only thing that exceeds been long-held passions management and ship and much of the world our use of the expression of mine, so it is a source operations, has made it economy flows. Some is our overall lack of of great pride that Teekay clear to me that the major ships are the biggest self- understanding of it. Shipping has supported issue affecting the shipping propelled machines on the MCA with this industry guide to human industry today is the human element. the face of the earth. Yet ships and trade do I sat an examination on human factors behaviour. not depend on vast machines – but on the for my private pilot’s licence. It was a The technical issues have in the main people who run them. revelation, saving me from potentially fatal As an industry we need to start considering been ironed out and the regulatory regime consequences on at least one occasion. how decisions impact our seafarers. We tightened up – but incidents and claims More advances in the safety of seafarers need to consistently remember the past, continue to occur. and shipping are only possible through I believe this book will go a long way to filling international cooperation, with national the knowledge gap in the shipping industry. both good and bad, and apply the lessons The types of claim we see at the Standard learned. This Guide helps us explore the action on agreed standards. Securing It will not only help us run safer ships but Club keep recurring, and inevitably these maritime safety on behalf of the UK more efficient ones as well. It should help way we learn, the way we work, the way we are rooted in the more unfortunate make decisions and the way we view risks. Government is our business at the Maritime convert the common belief that our officers consequences of human behaviour. and Coastguard Agency, the MCA. We know and crews are our greatest hazard to the In essence, it is a frame of reference for how This book has the power to assist those standards and inspections alone will not more accurate view that they are really our create a flourishing safety culture. We also greatest asset. to manage our people. people operating, managing and crewing the ships to address this major issue. I very need understanding of the source of safety – I hope a well-thumbed copy will sit on the The Guide reveals the complex challenges much hope they seize the opportunities it human behaviour. shelf of every ship and shipping office next associated with human behaviour. Insight provides. This Guide offers an innovative and clear to the ‘Code of Safe Working Practice for into these will assist in maximising the skills Captain Chris Spencer explanation of human behaviour across Merchant Seamen’. of the many talented people in our industry. Director of Loss Prevention the maritime industry. It brings together a Standard P&I Club I am proud that we have been associated wealth of insight and good practice to help People determine our industry’s success – you run safer, more successful shipping. with this book’s creation. the first step starts with each one of us. Peter Cardy Martin Shaw Captain Graham Westgarth Chief Executive Vice President, Safety, Health, Marine & Engineering President Maritime and Coastguard Agency BP Shipping Teekay Marine Services About this Guide Who is this Guide for? Why was it developed? How was it developed? This Guide is aimed at: Analysis of shipping disasters in recent years has The Guide was designed and written by organisational produced an increasing awareness of the central psychologists Dik Gregory and Paul Shanahan. It is • Masters and crews importance of the human element. The loss of life, the based on a wide range of consultations with maritime impact on company profits and credibility, and the vast organisations, together with their own experience of • Owners and managers environmental damage that can result from the loss of a creating related guidance materials for the defence, rail • Designers and buyers vessel remain clear and present dangers. and air traffic control sectors. • Regulators and investigators Several recent initiatives have documented aspects The Guide was developed for the UK Maritime and of the human element, most notably ALERT!, a series Coastguard Agency and supported by BP Shipping, What does it offer? of publications by Lloyds Register and the Nautical Teekay Marine Services and the Standard P&I Club. This Guide explains fundamental aspects of human Institute. These are excellent resources that have behaviour, which together constitute what the been very successful in raising awareness about the commercial maritime sector calls ‘the human element’. importance of the human element. Because of these It makes clear that the human element is neither materials it is now widely understood that human issues peripheral nor optional in the pursuit of a profitable and are involved in almost all marine incidents. At the same safe shipping industry. On the contrary, the capabilities time, the frequency of marine incidents continues and vulnerabilities of human beings are – and always unabated. It is not enough, it seems, to simply know that will be – at the centre of the enterprise. human issues are important. The Guide clearly shows that managing the human It is now vital to make a clear connection between these element must take place simultaneously at all levels of human issues and the business success of those who the industry – from within the engine rooms and decks make their living from the shipping industry – whether of the smallest cargo ships to the conventions of the on ship or ashore. Specifically, everyone involved needs regulation makers and the boardrooms of the business to understand that they, themselves, are the human strategists. It is the policies and strategies that shape element. Their continued business success depends on and constrain the space in which ships and their crews how far they are able to manage their own behaviour operate. along with the behaviour of those around them. The Guide offers insight, explanation and advice to help This Guide was developed to help them do just that. manage the human element more effectively. Human Element Guide v1.0 – page i Human Element Guide v1.0 – page ii Contents About this Guide i Making decisions 23 Learning and developing 61 Who is this Guide for? i How do people make decisions? 23 Learning is normal … 61 What does it offer? i Case study: The day that efficiency led to tragedy 24 … so, what is learning? 61 Why was it developed? i What draws us towards efficient decisions? 25 Formal vs. informal learning 62 How was it developed? i Case study: Death on Saga Rose 26 What are the benefits of investment in training? 62 How does culture influence decision making? 26 What’s involved in training investment? 63 Between the devil and the deep blue sea v Does all this